Today's Pic

Cell phone pic of Sunday evening's stormy sky.

DC Bound

The 8th graders headed to Washington DC today. I dropped Tyler off at the school at 5:45am this morning. They did some sight seeing along the way and finally checked into their hotel around 10pm this evening. He has posted several pictures on Instagram, so I've been able to keep up with him. He's texted me a few times, too. Sounds like everything is going well so far. They have a very full schedule and return late Friday night. I hope he has a great time!

Checking in this morning. Shortly after this we realized he had forgotten his pillow and I had to race home to get it.

One of 3 buses they took.

My boss is his chaperone. She sent this to me tonight. :)

Play Ball!!

Danielle finally got to play in her first softball game of the season this weekend; Her team played in their first tournament. They played a couple games in the fall but a couple girls have left since then. They haven't scrimmaged or anything, so we weren't sure how they would do. Turns out...not too badly! They made some mistakes and have some things to improve upon, but they certainly started strong. They ended up finishing third overall in the tournament, winning 4 games and losing 2. It was a great start to the season.

Danielle had an amazing weekend. She made the switch to being a lefty hitter when the season ended last summer. She has been taking hitting lessons and practicing on her own for months. We weren't sure how it was all going to come together once she was in a real game with a live pitcher, but she did great! She was the lead off batter all weekend. She had 18 at bats and got on base 15 times. She got to steal lots of bases and scored several times. In one game she hit in the tying run. Her hitting has always been the weakest part of her game, so this was a big deal. She was really happy with how well she did, but getting a text from her coach after the game telling her how great she did and that she lead the team in almost every category was the icing on the cake.

It looks like she's going to be playing centerfield most of the time this year. She is fast, so it's probably a good spot for her. She played short stop some this weekend, too. She is aggressive, moves quickly, and has a pretty good softball IQ, so she's a good candidate for the infield, too. She made good plays in both spots this weekend. We'll have to see how the season progresses. This was definitely a great start to the season for her.

 

 

Turn Off the Alarm, It's Summer Break!!

Yesterday was our last day of school - HOORAY!! Here is a picture of the kids on their last day:


Here they are on the first day this year.

Tyler has thinned out even more, and Danielle is looking more like a teen instead of a tween. (Tyler is in his swimsuit because the 8th graders have a pool party on the last day of school.) Both kids finished strong. Tyler got an award at school for being on the honor roll this year, which means he maintained a gpa of 3.5-3.9. Danielle got a science award, an award for being top in her class in math, for scoring above 85% on all her vocab tests, and for maintaining a 4.0 the entire school year. I can't believe Tyler is now a freshman, and our baby is now in jr. high.

We had our annual water balloon fight after school but I think I'm getting too old. I suggested to the kids that next year we should start a new tradition of ice cream instead of water balloons. Danielle said, "You mean throw ice cream? Ok!" :) The best part of the water balloon fight, beyond the giggles, was that afterward the three of us sat on the patio steps and chatted about our days and about the days ahead. That part was well worth the soggy clothes.

We have a lot of fun activities planned for this summer. Getting things started is Danielle's first softball tournament tomorrow. Tyler leaves for his 8th grade trip to Washington DC on Tuesday. Both kids are busy, but we will do our best to fit in activities we can enjoy together. After all, we only have 4 summers left before Tyler graduates. Excuse me while I look for the tissues...

Ron's First Marathon!

Last week my mom, stepdad, and I went to Maine with my brother to cheer him on for his first marathon. He has been running for awhile now but started training specifically for this marathon in January. By the day of the race, he had logged over 850 miles just since 1/1/16! What's 26.2 more, right?!

Checking out the marathon course during packet pick up the day before the race.

 

Race day. Let's go!

 

After we dropped Ron off at the starting line we went back to our rental house so we could watch him run by between miles 6 and 7. The 6 ladies from Boston who were watching from the driveway next to us in their housecoats and slippers chanted his name and cheered when he went by. It was pretty funny.  We moved along the course and stopped to cheer him on at miles 14, 18, and 21. Until the marathon, he had never run more than 16 miles at a time. He looked really strong every time we saw him until mile 21. He seemed to be struggling a bit, so we decided to find one more spot before the finish line to cheer him on. When we saw him again just before mile 25, he was back in his groove and looked great.

 

Rounding the corner by our place. The other runners pretended the ladies were cheering for them. :)

Between miles 6 & 7

Mile 14.

Looks like he's out for a stroll. He ran the whole route, though. All 26.2 miles. 

 

 



Coming over the hill at mile 18

 



The home stretch

His time was actually a little less than that because he didn't cross the starting line the second the race started.

Almost smiled at the finish line.



Definitely a grimace after the finish line.

 

There isn't any place around him where he could have trained outdoors and been prepared for the hilliness of the course! So. Many. Hills. And it was windy. But in true Ron fashion, he stuck with it and nailed his goal. For his first marathon, he finished in a little over 3 hours and 24 minutes and was 74th out of 859. I think that's amazing.



Congratulations hug from mom. Or maybe she was holding him up.



Post race massage

 

I was so glad I got to be a part of something that means so much to him.

Lilacs

The lilacs are in bloom and filling the air with such a pleasant fragrance. We have some right outside one of our front windows, and our neighbors have a row of them along their patio out back. It's one of my favorite smells.

6th Grade Camp

Our district has a 6th grade camp for all the 6th graders. They go during school for three days and stay two nights. It's a couple hours away in the woods and hills and they stay in cabins and "rough" it, with no communication from anyone outside of camp. It is a wonderful experience for the kids. I think most students would say it is one of the highlights of their school careers. Tyler didn't really want to go but ended up having a wonderful time. He still talks about it. Today it was Danielle's turn to go. I forgot to take a picture of her before she left this morning, so one of my teacher chaperone friends sent me this when the kids first arrived. I miss her, but I'm sure she's having a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it when she gets back!!

We're Still Here!

We're still here, despite the lack of posts. I have been going to bed shortly after we put the kids to bed and just haven't had time to do much more than check my email and occasionally Facebook. We only have 3 weeks of school left, so hopefully I will be able to stay up past 9:30 after awhile! I remember not understanding why my mom was always so tired when I was younger. She worked more hours than I do now and was a single parent for awhile. Looking back, I don't know how she managed to do all that she did. Plus, I'm sure my brother took a lot of energy to parent. :)

Volleyball is winding down. Danielle's team has done very well this year. They placed second in a big tournament a couple weeks ago. Some clubs like to give out tshirts instead of medals, so this is Danielle's team sporting their 2nd place shirts after the tournament. I think it's a bit of a rip off when you consider how much all the teams pay to enter the tournament, but we've gotten used to it. Tshirts don't hang on a trophy shelf very well, though. Danielle's team placed 3rd twice, 2nd twice, and 1st once, all in the gold bracket, this season. (They placed 5th in the tournament that Danielle missed. ) That's a very good record. We enjoyed having Grandma & Grandpa R watch a couple matches last week, and Uncle Ron has been a good cheerleader this season, too. They have their state finals next Saturday and then the season will be over...just in time for softball to start!

Tyler has been busy raising money for a big band trip he will go on with the marching band next school year. He's also been practicing for his upcoming band performance. He has three solos. I don't think any of them are as big as the one he had last year, but he's excited about it. They are playing the Best of Journey, and Ron and I have been enjoying listening to him practice that one! Occasionally we belt out the lyrics and the kids can't decide if it's funny or sad. It's probably both. Tyler is also counting down the days until the 8th graders go to Washington DC at the end of the month. I can't believe he's almost done with jr high.

And I also can't believe Danielle is almost a jr higher! She is getting ready for 6th grade camp in a couple weeks. She finished up her science fair project this week. She has to present it next week, but the bulk of the work is out of the way. I thought her topic was boring but it got the job done. She's looking forward to softball season beginning.

The kids went to the elementary school carnival last weekend. I love it when they chose to spend time together. It doesn't seem like it happens very often. He finds her annoying and she does things to purposefully aggravate him. But, they had about 2 hours last weekend where they were friends and I have pictures to prove it. Danielle took the selfie at the carnival. It's one of my favorites.